In recent years, outdoor lights have grown in popularity. The vast array of applications for outdoor lights has fueled their increasing sales. Outdoor lights can be used for aesthetic purposes in the design of gardens and yards, as well as for utilitarian purposes such as security, warding of insects or lighting dark paths. Various types of outdoor lights exist. A common type of outdoor light is the solar outdoor light, which consists of a solar element that charges a battery using energy garnered from a solar panel, a light emitting mechanism 102 (see FIG. 1) such as one or more LEDs, a base portion 104 comprising a shaft and a sharp stake 106 for inserting into the ground, wherein the stake is coupled to the base portion. Multiple outdoor solar lights can be placed along the foot of a garden path, for example, to light the way in the evening when there is no ambient light. Another common type of outdoor light is the electric outdoor light, which is similar to the solar outdoor light except that the electric outdoor light is connected to a power source via a power cord. Multiple outdoor electric lights can be strung together along the power cord to provide light to an outdoor area.
One problem that users of outdoor lights often encounter is the lack of options available when it comes to the location where an outdoor light is affixed. Since conventional outdoor lights usually come with a base portion that comprises a sharp stake for driving into the ground, users are limited to soft ground for the placement of outdoor lights. A sharp stake does not allow an outdoor light to be placed on hard ground, such as rocky terrain that does not allow a stake to be driven into it. Further, a sharp stake does not allow an outdoor light to be placed on a hard stationary object such as a fence post, a dock piling, a tree or any other stationary object comprised of a hard material that does not accept a sharp stake. This can be problematic to users of outdoor lights since soft ground is not always available in an outdoor area a user desires to illuminate. Furthermore, illuminating an outdoor area at ground level is not always desirable. At times, users desire to light up an outdoor area by placing outdoor lights at shoulder level or higher. This is not possible with the currently-available outdoor lights since they only allow for ground-level placement of the lights.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above, and particularly for an apparatus that allows conventional outdoor lights to be coupled with various stationary objects.